A US F-35 plane has been hit by Iranian fire, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing at a US air base in the Middle East.
A spokesman for Central Command said that the stealth jet was "flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make the emergency landing, per CNN. “The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition. This incident is under investigation.”
The incident is the first time Iran was able to hit a US aircraft since the first day of the attack was conducted on February 28. The US and Israel have been flying F-35 stealth jets and the cost of the planes is around $100 million each. No other aircraft in the war have been lost because of enemy fire. At the start of the war, there were three F-15 fighter jets that were gunned down in a friendly fire incident in Kuwait.
In Iraq, a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling plane crashed in western Iraq, but the incident was not due to "hostile fire or friendly fire," according to the US military. This comes as War Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that the US is "on target" for reaching its objectives in the war.
"These are not the media's objectives, not Iran's objectives. Not new objectives. Our objectives—unchanged, on target, and on plan: destroy missiles launchers and Iran's defense industrial base so they cannot rebuild, destroy their navy, and Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," he said Thursday.
Thus far, there have been 13 US service members who have been killed in the conflict. Capt. Cody A. Khork; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor; Sgt. Declan J. Coady; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan; and Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait.
Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington was killed in a missile attack on an airbase in Saudi Arabia. Maj. John A. Klinner; Capt. Ariana G. Savino; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt; Capt. Seth R. Koval; Capt. Curtis J. Angst; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons were killed in the KC-135 aircraft crash in Iraq.
A spokesman for Central Command said that the stealth jet was "flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make the emergency landing, per CNN. “The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition. This incident is under investigation.”
The incident is the first time Iran was able to hit a US aircraft since the first day of the attack was conducted on February 28. The US and Israel have been flying F-35 stealth jets and the cost of the planes is around $100 million each. No other aircraft in the war have been lost because of enemy fire. At the start of the war, there were three F-15 fighter jets that were gunned down in a friendly fire incident in Kuwait.
In Iraq, a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling plane crashed in western Iraq, but the incident was not due to "hostile fire or friendly fire," according to the US military. This comes as War Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that the US is "on target" for reaching its objectives in the war.
"These are not the media's objectives, not Iran's objectives. Not new objectives. Our objectives—unchanged, on target, and on plan: destroy missiles launchers and Iran's defense industrial base so they cannot rebuild, destroy their navy, and Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," he said Thursday.
Thus far, there have been 13 US service members who have been killed in the conflict. Capt. Cody A. Khork; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor; Sgt. Declan J. Coady; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan; and Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait.
Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington was killed in a missile attack on an airbase in Saudi Arabia. Maj. John A. Klinner; Capt. Ariana G. Savino; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt; Capt. Seth R. Koval; Capt. Curtis J. Angst; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons were killed in the KC-135 aircraft crash in Iraq.
